Rollin' on the River
by Erin T. Aardvark
Summary: Sequel to the "Haunted Showboat" episode of "The New Scooby Doo Movies." Scooby and the gang team up once more with Josie and the Pussycats to solve another mystery aboard a supposedly haunted showboat. Deja vu, anyone?


_AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a sequel to the "New Scooby Doo Movies" episode "The Haunted Showboat" (or as I refer to it, "Scooby Doo Meets Josie and the Pussycats"). Scooby Doo, Shaggy, Fred, Velma and Daphne belong to Hanna-Barbera, Josie and the Pussycats belong to Archie comics and Hanna-Barbera, Mr. Cabot belongs to Archie comics, and Jerry, Linda, and other incidental characters belong to me._

* * *

Fred Jones was driving the Mystery Machine down a New Orleans road, on their way to the docks to meet Daphne Blake's uncle, Beauregard Blake, who owned a large riverboat.

"I can't wait to see Uncle Beauregard!" Daphne shouted. "Just wait until you see his boat, the Belle of New Orleans!"

"Like, I just hope it doesn't wind up like the last time we were on an old riverboat," Shaggy Rogers said. "You remember, the one what was haunted?"

"Reah, raunted!" Shaggy's Great Dane, Scooby Doo, said. Then he covered his eyes with his paws, and started whimpering.

"I remember," Fred said. "It was when we met that music group, Josie and the Pussycats. Anyway, there are the docks up ahead."

"And there's Uncle Beauregard," Daphne said. "Well, what are we wating for?" Fred asked.

The group climbed out of the Mystery Machine, and ran over to the group standing in front of an old, broken down paddlewheel riverboat with the name "The Belle of New Oreleans."

"Hey, gang, look who's here!" Fred shouted.

"Like, wow, it's Josie and the Pussycats!" Shaggy shouted.

"Roh boy!" Scooby shouted, excitedly.

"Hey, look, kids," Alan M. Mayberry, the blond muscular roadie of the Pussycats, said. "It's Scooby Doo and the gang."

"Hi Fred! Hi Daphne!" the Pussycats drummer, Melody Valentine, called out, waving. "Hi Velma! Hi Shaggy! Hi Scooby!"

"What are you kids doing here?" the Pussycats' leader, Josie McCoy, asked.

"We were going to ask you the same thing," Fred said.

"We're here to play a gig," the group's tambourinist, Valerie Brown, said.

"Yeah, my dad just bought the Belle of New Orleans," the Pussycat's manager, Alexander Cabot III, said.

"He's going to turn this old rust bucket into a floating hotel," Alex's twin sister, Alexandra, said, stroking her black and white cat, Sebastian.

"It's _not_ an old rust bucket!" Daphne shouted, indignantly. "It's a lovely old fashioned riverboat!"

"Now, Daphne, dear, I appreciate the sentiment," a man with red and gray streaked hair said, putting his hand on Daphne's shoulder. "But even you have to admit, she has a point. It _is_ a bit old, and broken down."

"But I'm sure with a little bit of work, she'll be even better than new," a heavy set man with a mustache said. "Permit me to introduce myself, I'm Alexander Cabot the second, the new owner of the Belle of New Orleans."

"And I'm Beauregard Blake, the old owner of the Belle," the other man said. "And I take it you all are my little Daphne's friends."

"That's right," Fred said, shaking Mr. Blake's hand. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Blake. Daphne's told us a lot about you."

"But why are you selling your boat, Uncle Beauregard?" Daphne asked.

"Hey gang!" a voice called out from the ship before Mr. Blake could answer. "You won't believe the details of this boat! It's just completely incredible! I swear, if I didn't know any better, you'd think the place had been abandoned for years! Cobweb city, you know what I mean? Dust everywhere, a housekeeper's nightmare!"

"Oh, can it, motor mouth!" Alexandra shouted, as a dark-haired young man came down the gang plank followed by a brunette teenage girl.

"Don't you ever stop talking?" Alexandra asked.

"Not unless I want to get paid when I'm on the air," the young man said.

"Yeah, Alexandra," the girl said. "Jerry's a DJ after all."

"Kids, I'd like you to meet our new keyboardist, Linda Stanley," Josie said to Scooby and the gang. "She's Alex and Alexandra's cousin. And this is her boyfriend, Jerry Geeter. He's a disc jockey. Linda, Jerry, these are our friends, Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby."

"Hi," Linda said. "Nice to meet you."

"Hey, what's happenin'?" Jerry said, waving at Scooby and the gang.

"Hi, Fred said. "What do you mean by the place looks like it's been abandoned?"

"Oh nothing, it's just that the rooms here on the place are a wreck," Jerry said.

"I never used these rooms," Mr. Blake said. "When I had the old girl, I used her as a shipping boat. And I don't _want_ to sell her, Daphne. Mr. Cabot's just made an offer."

"Don't you worry about a thing, Mr. Blake," Mr. Cabot said. "I'll take good care of the old girl."

"I'm sure you would, Mr. Cabot," Mr. Blake said. "But I just don't think she's right for a hotel."

"But she's too broken down to be a good shipping boat, sir," Alan pointed out.

"She's too broken down to be a good hotel, too," Alexandra muttered under her breath.

"Besides, a big showboat like this," Mr. Cabot went on. "It's just born to be a hotel! It's perfect!"

"I just can't bear to part with her," Mr. Blake said. "Sentimental value, you understand."

"Well how about this, then," Mr. Cabot said. "How about we become partners? Go in fifty-fifty on this?"

"Well, I'm still not sure," Mr. Blake said. "I need to think about it."

"And while you think about it, Uncle Beauregard, we'll help fix it up," Daphne said. "Right guys?"

"Sure thing," Fred said.

"Like, right on," Shaggy replied.

"You bet," Velma said.

"Reah, reah!" Scooby barked.

"You can count us in, too," Josie said.

"And you can count me out," Alexandra said.

"Come on, Alexandra!" Alex shouted. "Everybody else is . . . ."

"No!" Alexandra shouted. "I don't do menial labor!"

"Suit yourself, Alexandra," Alan said. "Come on, Josie. "You and I can start with dusting some of the rooms."

"Okay, Alan," Josie said, and she and Alan started to leave. Immediately, Alexandra rushed over to them.

"On second thought, Alan, I'll be glad to help you dust," she said, batting her eyelashes.

"That's one way to get my sister to do something," Alex said.


End file.
